We live in a society where we are very used to doing something we don’t enjoy for long periods of our life so we can put food on our tables, partially see the world, have material objects etc. and so forth. According to a recent Gallup Survey, 70% of employed Americans either hate their jobs or are simply checked out of their work.[1] What does that say about how we ‘work?’

You can call it backwards or you can just observe it for what it is, the bottom line is we have the ability to do something our heart desires, we just have to make a few adjustments so we can make that happen.

Before we go on, it’s not all about the money. It’s about your passion. The money (a resource we require right now) will simply flow the more we balance our passion with paying attention.

All About Passion

You may have heard me say it a number of times, I’m very passionate about other people’s passions and getting them to act on them. I don’t know why I’m like this, but I don’t need to understand that. For now, I know I want to share my message, a bit about my story and inspire other people to do something they love in their life, because if I can do it, so can anyone else.

You may have heard the statement before “do what you love and the money will follow.” This statement can sound cliche at times because it also seems to mean we can just start something and it will automatically work out. It all depends on how you interpret the saying. I also believe it comes down to what you think “do” means in the context of the phrase. More on that shortly.

Below are thoughts and things I learned along my journey of leaving the beaten path and starting something I’m passionate about, this organization, Collective Evolution.

A Lifetime Of What You Don’t Enjoy

When I was in college, doing things I wasn’t a fan of; things that didn’t light me up and get me excited, I would often think to myself “Why am I doing this? Is this what I want? Where will this lead?” I had the opportunity to work in multiple corporate settings, during and after high school, while I was in between getting degrees. This experience allowed me to see, feel and understand what it was like to be in a corporate setting for not only myself but other people. The vast majority of people there had been there for 10+ years and they didn’t like what they were doing. I was there for a couple of years on and off and I didn’t like it either. But it paid the bills and this is what most people accept as “good reason” to stay in a job.

You could say it’s a good enough reason depending on how you look at it. You can raise a family, have a car, house, do some things etc. To some, that limited way of life may be all they are looking for -or so they think as I like to say.

Sure, you could work your way up through the ranks of a company that you don’t enjoy working for and you may make a lot of money if you stick to that, but will you be happy? Do you want to go through life coasting? Just repeating things over and over again with a few days a month here and there where you do something you enjoy? Or would you rather do what you love as often as you could; even if it comes with less money?

The Grant Study, a 75 year study out of Harvard University found that in a career sense, feeling connected to ones work as opposed to simply doing it for financial gain played a big role in feeling joy in life. Those who simply chased the traditional idea of success, accumulating wealth and having a “good job,” yet who were not doing what they loved to do, did not find much joy compared to those who simply followed what they liked and felt drawn to.[2]

Lesson: We know doing what we love is important for feeling peace in life.

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